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Gregory J. Walsh

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory J. Walsh.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2026

Evidence for organic and igneous carbon sources in the Mesoproterozoic Adirondack Highlands graphite district, New York

This study examined the origin of graphite mineralization in the Mesoproterozoic Adirondack Highlands. Flake graphite was mined from the historic mining district around Ticonderoga, New York, USA, from the 1850s to the 1920s. Most of the production and reserves from the district are disseminated graphite from feldspathic quartz schists (e.g., Dixon-American Graphite Co. mine, Faxon property, Flake Graphite Company). Protolith sediments of the schists were deposited in the Trans-Adirondack backarc basin at ca. 1.25 Ga and were metamorphosed to high grade at 1.18–1.15 Ga during the accretionary Shawinigan orogeny and at 1.09–1.02 Ga during the Ottawan phase of the Grenvillian orogeny. Major elements and carbon isotopes of graphite from schists (δ 13 C = −28.1‰ to −5.4‰ relative to Vienna Peedee belemnite) are consistent with derivation from organic carbon in protolith sandstones that devolatilized during metamorphism. Some small mines and prospects in the district mined graphitic calcite marbles and clinopyroxene ± scapolite skarns associated with a pegmatite suite dated by U-Pb in zircon to 1.04–1.01 Ga (e.g., Lead Hill and Crown Point deposits), and rare graphite veins are observed at several deposits. Hydrothermal flake graphite from pegmatites, skarns, and veins are distinct from graphite in schist-hosted deposits and have δ 13 C values that cluster around −7‰ to −5‰, consistent with deposition from igneous CO 2 . Covariation of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes and U-Pb zircon geochronology are not compatible with precipitation from fluids derived from country rock metapelites or marbles. Some graphite districts elsewhere show compelling evidence for remobilization and redeposition of sedimentary-derived carbon as hydrothermal graphite, sometimes as thick veins producing world-class, high-grade deposits. In the Adirondacks, there is evidence for two generations of graphite mineralization with distinct carbon sources: syngenetic graphite with an organic origin in Shawinigan quartz schists and epigenetic graphite with an igneous origin in Ottawan skarns and pegmatites.

New York↗
USGS2026

Preliminary bedrock geologic map of the Port Henry quadrangle, Essex County, New York, and Addison County, Vermont

Introduction The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Port Henry quadrangle consists of deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Adirondack Highlands unconformably overlain by weakly deformed lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Champlain Valley. The Mesoproterozoic rocks occur on the eastern edge of the Adirondack Highlands and represent an extension of the Grenville Province of Laurentia. Mesoproterozoic paragneiss, marble, and amphibolite hosted the emplacement of an anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite (AMCG) suite, now exposed mostly as orthogneiss, at approximately 1.18–1.15 Ga (giga-annum). In the Port Henry quadrangle, the AMCG metaigneous rocks (Yhg, Ygb, Yanw) intruded older, mostly metasedimentary rocks of the Grenville Complex during the middle to late Shawinigan orogeny (~1,160–1,150 Ma [mega-annum]). All rocks were subsequently metamorphosed to upper amphibolite to granulite facies conditions during the 1,080–1,050 Ma Ottawan orogeny. New mapping reveals four periods of deformation: (1) D1 produced rarely preserved isoclinal folds in the paragneiss and marble and predates AMCG magmatism. (2) Subsequent D2 deformation produced the dominant gneissic fabric preserved in the rock, recumbent folding, and deformed all the Proterozoic units in the map area. Syn- to late-D2 felsic magmatism resulted in the regionally extensive Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, which hosts numerous magnetite ore bodies. (3) Mylonitic extensional shear zones and core complex formation marked the beginning of D3 deformation. Protracted D3 deformation resulted in F3 upright folding, dome and basin formation, pegmatite intrusion, reactivation of the S2 foliation, partial melting, metamorphism, metasomatism, iron-ore remobilization, and intrusion of magnetite-bearing pegmatite both as layer-parallel sills and crosscutting dikes. (4) D4 created northeast- and northwest-trending local high-grade ductile shear zones and boudinage, northwest-trending regional kilometer (km)-wide ductile shear zones, and crosscutting granitic pegmatite dikes. The development of the late-stage regional shear zones (D4) was likely due to the continuation of extensional doming and uplift from upper amphibolite facies conditions at the end of the Ottawan orogeny. The majority of iron-ore deposits in the Port Henry and adjacent Witherbee quadrangles are in the hanging wall of these extensional shear zones. In the Port Henry quadrangle, the km-wide Cheney Mountain shear zone is the result of D4 deformation. Kilometer-scale lineaments readily observed in lidar data are Ediacaran mafic dikes and Phanerozoic brittle faults. The Paleozoic rocks are part of the Early Cambrian to Late Ordovician carbonate bank on the ancient margin of Laurentia. The approximately 1-km-thick Cambrian to Ordovician stratigraphy records a transition from synrift clastics to passive-margin peritidal carbonate buildups to gradually deeper-water subtidal- to shelf-carbonates during foreland basin development associated with the Taconic orogeny. The Paleozoic rocks are weakly folded and block faulted. Large areas of the Champlain Valley are covered by undifferentiated glacial deposits, some of which contain mapped landslides. The map also shows waste rock piles and tailings from historical mining operations. This study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the bedrock geology in the Adirondack Highlands, establish a modern framework for 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic mapping in the Adirondacks, provide a context for historical iron mines in the eastern Adirondacks, and update the stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley in New York and Vermont. This Open-File Report includes a bedrock geologic map; a description of map units; a correlation of map units; and a geographic information system database that includes bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information.

New York, Vermont↗
USGS2026

Bedrock geologic map of the Eagle Lake quadrangle, Essex County, New York

The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Eagle Lake quadrangle, Essex County, New York, consists of deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Adirondack Highlands unconformably overlain by weakly deformed lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Champlain Valley. The Mesoproterozoic rocks occur on the eastern edge of the Adirondack Highlands and represent an extension of the Grenville Province of Laurentia. Granulite facies Mesoproterozoic paragneiss, marble, and amphibolite hosted the emplacement of an anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite (AMCG) suite, now exposed mostly as orthogneiss, at approximately 1.18–1.15 giga-annum (Ga, billion years before present). The earliest of four phases of deformation (D1) predated AMCG magmatism and is characterized by gneissosity, rarely preserved F1 isoclinal folds, and migmatite in the paragneiss host rocks. A sample of hornblende quartz syenite from the AMCG suite, collected from an abandoned railroad cut on Old Furnace Road, yielded a U-Pb zircon age of 1,149±10 million years before present. D2 deformation produced a composite penetrative gneissosity, migmatite, and isoclinal F2 folds. Towards the end of D2, felsic magmatism (including the regionally extensive Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, abbreviated “LMG”) spread by penetrative migration as semiconcordant alkali feldspar granite sheets subparallel to S2 into the previously deformed lithologies. The LMG crystallized at approximately 1.15 to 1.14 Ga and displays synkinematic F2 folds thus constraining the time of D2 deformation. Exhumation of the Marcy anorthosite began during D3 along a mylonitic extensional detachment, as a type of core complex. Protracted D3 produced F3 folds exhibited in regional domes and basins, such as the Hammondville antiform, reactivation of the S2 foliation, partial melting, metamorphism, metasomatism, iron ore remobilization, and intrusion of magnetite-bearing pegmatite both as layer-parallel sills and crosscutting dikes. D4 created NE- and NW-trending boudinage, local high-grade ductile shear zones, and crosscutting granitic pegmatite dikes. Kilometer (km)-scale lineaments readily observed in lidar data are Ediacaran mafic dikes and Phanerozoic brittle faults. Lower Paleozoic rocks are part of the Early Cambrian to Late Ordovician great American carbonate bank on the ancient margin of Laurentia. The Potsdam Sandstone preserves the Cambrian stratigraphy in outliers above the Great Unconformity. The Paleozoic rocks are weakly folded and block faulted. Parts of the quadrangle are covered by undifferentiated glacial deposits, but much of the quadrangle contains only a variably thick, veneer of unmapped glacial till over significant areas of exposed bedrock. The map also shows waste rock piles and locations of historical mining operations. This study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the bedrock geology in the Adirondack Highlands, establish a modern framework for 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic mapping in the Adirondack Mountains, and provide a modern context for historical mines. This Scientific Investigations Map of the Eagle Lake 7.5-minute quadrangle consists of a map sheet, an explanatory pamphlet, and a geographic information system database that includes bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information. The map sheet includes a bedrock geologic map, a correlation of map units, a description of map units, an explanation of map symbols, and two cross sections. The explanatory pamphlet includes a discussion of the geology.

New York↗
USGS2025

Bedrock geologic map of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, Windham and Windsor Counties, Vermont, and Sullivan and Cheshire Counties, New Hampshire

Introduction The bedrock geology of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, Vermont and New Hampshire, consists of polydeformed Ordovician to Devonian metasedimentary, metavolcanic, and metaplutonic rocks of the Connecticut Valley trough, Bronson Hill anticlinorium (or Bronson Hill terrane), and the Central Maine terrane. Previous work in this area includes a 1:62,500-scale published map and text (1946), State geologic maps of New Hampshire (1997) and Vermont (2011), and various maps and reports presented largely as parts of field trip guidebooks. A provisional open-file map of the geology of the Vermont part of the Bellows Falls 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, completed in 1997, is incorporated and revised on this map based on additional fieldwork. This study recognizes three major structural levels from west to east and from lowest to highest: (1) autochthonous rocks of the Connecticut Valley trough; (2) allochthonous rocks of the New Hampshire sequence and Bronson Hill arc in the Monroe thrust sheet (or nappe), including the Skitchewaug nappe; and (3) allochthonous rocks of the Fall Mountain thrust sheet or nappe.

New Hampshire, Vermont↗
USGS2025

Geochemical and tectonic evolution of the Ordovician Bronson Hill arc and Silurian and Devonian Connecticut Valley–Gaspé trough: Eastern Vermont and western New Hampshire, USA

We present major and trace element whole-rock geochemistry of 94 samples from the Bronson Hill arc (BHA) and Connecticut Valley–Gaspé trough (CVGT). These data, when combined with recent zircon U-Pb geochronology and a reexamination of existing whole-rock geochemistry, enable a new analysis of the tectonic history of the ancient Laurentian-Ganderian margin in the northern Appalachians of New England, USA, and southeastern Canada. The whole-rock geochemical data from the Ordovician BHA in western New Hampshire indicate that metamorphosed extrusive and intrusive rocks share the same temporally variable geochemical fingerprint. Mafic and felsic rocks form a bimodal distribution and plot as island arc magmas on geochemical discrimination diagrams. Approximately 80% of mafic greenstone and amphibolite samples plot as island arc tholeiites with a subset of samples that trend toward a more within-plate basalt geochemical signature. Where ages are known, older felsic rocks (ca. 475–460 Ma) in the BHA tend to be more sodic and less potassic than their younger (ca. 460–445 Ma) counterparts, and the geochemical results trend from volcanic arc granites toward syn-collisional granites through time. Prior to recent geochronology, it was thought that an age gap existed between the island arc magmas and the syn collisional granites. This led to the separation of felsic plutons into the predominantly older trondhjemitic magmas assigned to the Ammonoosuc Volcanics and a younger suite of granites designated as the Oliverian Plutonic Suite. This age gap was thought to represent a flip in subduction polarity which would also account for observed changes in pluton chemistry. With the addition of more recent U-Pb isotopic age data, we now know there is a continuum of ages, and a polarity flip is no longer required. When the isotopic ages are combined with the new geochemical data presented here, they suggest that as the BHA approached and collided with Laurentia ca. 455 Ma, continental material was assimilated into the magma, and there was a transition from trondhjemite to granodiorite and granite magmas in felsic rocks and from island arc tholeiite toward more alkali-rich basalt with a continental signature in mafic magmas. The similarities in whole-rock and trace element geochemistry, rock type, and range of isotopic ages from the Ammonoosuc Volcanics, Partridge Formation, and Oliverian Plutonic Suite, suggest they originated from the same magma source and were part of one evolving island arc system that persisted throughout the Ordovician, and the need to separate the Oliverian Plutonic Suite from the Ammonoosuc Volcanics is not necessary. Most magmatism in the BHA ceased ca. 440 Ma. Following the Taconic orogeny, Silurian basin development was widespread along the length of the Laurentian-Ganderian suture. In New England and Québec, this resulted in the formation of the CVGT. The BHA and the CVGT are generally studied separately: the BHA in the context of arc-continent collision during the Taconic orogeny, and the CVGT as it relates to post-orogenic extension or the distal effects of the Salinic disturbance. When viewed collectively, the igneous geochemistry of the BHA and CVGT reveals an overlap between the waning stages of Taconic orogenesis and the onset of Silurian to Devonian basin development in the northern Appalachians. Metamorphosed bimodal volcanic and intrusive rocks are present in the CVGT (ca. 434–407 Ma) and Silurian cover sequence, which unconformably overlies the BHA. Mafic rocks in the CVGT are mostly tholeiitic basalts with a subset of alkali basalt in the Waits River Formation. Tectonic discrimination diagrams show that the mafic rocks are a mix of mid-ocean ridge basalt to within-plate basalt. The felsic rocks in the CVGT are mostly metamorphosed volcanic rocks that vary from island arc granite to within-plate granite. The geochemical signature of the CVGT is consistent with a post-collisional intra-arc basin, where slab breakoff or crustal attenuation played a key role before transitioning to a deepening foreland basin at the beginning of the Acadian orogeny.

New Hampshire, Vermont↗
USGS2025

Bedrock fracture characterization of the New Hampshire State Route 111 bypass, Windham, New Hampshire

Bedrock roadcuts developed with blasting along the New Hampshire State Route 111 bypass in Windham expose the metasedimentary Silurian Berwick Formation and intrusions of multiple phases of foliated to nonfoliated granite to granitic pegmatite of the Devonian New Hampshire Plutonic Suite. Fracture characterization at two roadway rock cuts (roadcuts) included measurement of fractures over a distance of approximately 225 and 85 meters. The Berwick Formation consists of medium-gray biotite-plagioclase-quartz granofels, biotite schist, and lesser calc-silicate rock. The Berwick Formation is locally sulfidic. Fresh, unweathered roadcuts are mostly gray but exhibit locally rusty weathering. The most conspicuous foliation in the region around the studied roadcuts is steeply northwest dipping to subvertical and northeast-southwest striking. Regionally, the strike of the foliation is consistently to the northeast-southwest, but the dip is locally variable to both the southeast and northwest. About 8 percent of the observed foliation surfaces exhibit limited fracture parting. The limited degree of parting agrees with observations for rocks within the garnet zone of metamorphism elsewhere in the Windham 7.5-minute quadrangle. The most prominent fracture trend is subvertical to steeply northeast-dipping and northwest-southeast striking (strike and dip of about 295°, 80°). The peak trend of steeply dipping fractures at the two exposures is 295°±12° and 289°±6°. Veins observed in the granite occur parallel to the peak fracture trend and consist primarily of quartz, tourmaline, and ankerite with minor amounts of sulfides (arsenopyrite, galena, and rare sphalerite), and trace amounts of apatite and rutile. The observed peak fracture trend at these roadcuts closely agrees with the most prominent fracture trend recognized within the Windham quadrangle. Gently south- to southeast-dipping and east- to northeast-striking fractures occur as joints and as parting fractures along a weak S 3 cleavage. Water-bearing fractures at one exposure occur along joints and gently dipping contacts between the Berwick Formation and the granite to granitic pegmatite of the New Hampshire Plutonic Suite. About 8 percent of the fractures are water-bearing and most water-bearing fractures are gently dipping to the southeast. Fracture data separated by rock type shows a similar distribution for steeply dipping northwest-striking trends, but with much fewer observed steeply north-dipping fractures in the granitic rocks. Both rock types show a cluster of gently south-dipping fractures. The granites show far fewer steeply dipping northeast-striking fractures, which reflects a greater degree of parting along the foliation in the metasedimentary rocks than in the granites. No foliation-parallel fractures were observed in the granites, but some contacts between granites and the Berwick Formation do exhibit parting. Fracture termination classification yields 3 percent abutting, 76 percent dead end, and 21 percent crossing (or throughgoing) fractures. Six brittle faults were observed, which strike northeast and most dip steeply to the northwest. Calculated paleostress tensors for the faults show an average stress field that is consistent with Late Triassic to Early Jurassic northwest-southeast extension associated with rifting of the New England crust during the initial opening of the Atlantic Basin. Fault data are consistent with brittle reactivation of the northeast striking and northwest dipping dominant foliation.

New Hampshire↗
USGS2025

Alteration mapping in granitic gneiss using handheld geophysical and geochemical instruments: Implications for iron oxide-apatite and rare earth elements exploration

The Adirondack Mountains of New York, U.S.A. contain iron oxide-apatite (IOA) mineral deposits with variable concentrations of rare earth elements (REE). The IOA mineral deposits are typically hosted in the Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss and are spatially correlated with extensive Na metasomatism (albitization) of the surrounding country rocks, although some mineral deposits also occur in metagabbro, paragneiss, and anorthosite hosts. The location of albitization zones is key to finding new IOA mineral deposits and better understanding the mineralization processes associated with their genesis. However, the Na alteration zones are generally not visibly identifiable in outcrop or hand specimens because the color and textural changes are subtle and are thus difficult to map. Here, we discuss the results from testing two spectroscopic techniques (handheld, field gamma-ray spectroscopy, and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)) to characterize albitization zones surrounding IOA mineral deposits. The gamma-ray and pXRF spectrometers successfully distinguished the relative intensity of alteration in the Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss based on the K abundance. The measured K content decreases towards the IOA mineral deposits, and the magnitude and width of the gradient are similar along the strike of each mineral deposit. Elevated Th and U values are present in host rocks adjacent to REE-bearing IOA mineral deposits. The pXRF and gamma-ray spectrometer K values are remarkably consistent with laboratory-based, whole-rock XRF compositional data and, therefore, useful for semi-quantitative analysis. Notably, albitization aureoles are consistent around REE-rich and REE-poor mineral deposits, suggesting that saline fluids are essential for the petrogenesis of IOA mineral deposits but may not be critical to REE mineralization. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the utility of handheld gamma-ray and pXRF spectrometry for identifying otherwise cryptic albitization gradients associated with IOA mineral deposits in granitic gneiss.

New York↗
USGS2025

Synergy between geology and geophysics in graphite mineral resource assessment

Graphite is designated as a critical mineral by the U.S. Government due to its essential role in modern technology and its vulnerability to supply chain disruption. To evaluate domestic graphite resources, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted two airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys as part of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) over prospective areas in the southern Appalachians of Alabama and the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. These surveys aimed to refine areas of interest by revealing subsurface electrical resistivity patterns indicative of graphite-bearing rocks. The results of the AEM surveys were integrated with existing geological knowledge and supplemented by field observations to assess the likelihood of undiscovered resources in these regions. This multidisciplinary approach combined geophysical techniques with traditional geological methods, enhancing the understanding of graphite potential in areas that may have been previously overlooked. The findings from this initiative are expected to contribute significantly to the ongoing efforts to secure a reliable domestic supply of graphite, thereby reducing import reliance and supporting national interests in mineral resource management.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2024

Bedrock geologic map of the Woodstock quadrangle, Grafton County, New Hampshire

The bedrock geology of the Woodstock 7.5-minute quadrangle consists of highly deformed metasedimentary rocks of the Central Maine trough, including the Silurian Rangeley and Perry Mountain Formations and the Devonian Littleton Formation. The central, northern, and eastern parts of the quadrangle are underlain by the oldest rocks in the area, the Rangeley Formation. In the southwest and south-central part of the quadrangle, metaturbidites of the Perry Mountain Formation and subsequent Littleton Formation overly the Rangeley Formation in a deformed F 1 synform, herein informally called the Bagley Brook basin. The metasedimentary rocks were intruded by widespread syn- to post-tectonic granitoids of the Devonian New Hampshire Plutonic Suite and minor post-metamorphic Jurassic-Cretaceous mafic dikes of the White Mountain Plutonic-Volcanic Suite. The metasedimentary rocks were affected by at least two episodes of deformation in the Devonian Acadian orogeny. The dominant regional foliation is second-generation (S 2 /D 2 ) and formed during the development of sillimanite-muscovite mineral assemblages. Large bodies of the Early Devonian Kinsman Granodiorite intruded the metasedimentary rocks semi-concordantly during D 2 deformation. Dikes of the Late Devonian Concord Granite cut the Kinsman Granodiorite and the metasedimentary rocks and were emplaced either syn- or post-D 2 . The map pattern in the Rangeley Formation is dominated by northeast to northwest trending, moderately to steeply north-dipping F 2 and F 3 folds. Map-scale F 1 folds are defined by the Bagley Brook basin. Previous division of Rangeley Formation stratigraphy in this region into “upper” and “lower” parts was not corroborated by 1:24,000-scale mapping of lithodemic units, and rocks previously mapped as part of the Smalls Falls and Madrid Formations are here reassigned to the Rangeley Formation. Some rocks previously mapped as the lower part of the Littleton Formation are now assigned to the Perry Mountain Formation. The Littleton Formation on this map is approximately equivalent to rocks previously mapped as the upper part of the same formation. Steeply dipping fractures in the quadrangle show a preferred northeast orientation, consistent with subsurface fracture orientations in the well fields near Mirror Lake. Jurassic-Cretaceous mafic dikes and normal faults show preferred northeast orientations, similar to the fractures, suggesting that the extensional stress field that controlled dike orientation during the Mesozoic also produced the dominant brittle fabrics in the area.

New Hampshire↗
USGS2023

Implementation plan of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program strategy—Northeast region of the United States: New York and New England

Complexly deformed igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks form the bedrock of the Northeast region of the United States. Variably thick unconsolidated sediments deposited by glacial, fluvial, and eolian systems locally cover the bedrock. New geologic mapping focuses on areas lacking modern, detailed studies or syntheses, and contributes to existing framework research. This report addresses plans for the continued development of regionally and nationally consistent geologic maps and map databases, efforts to answer outstanding geologic questions, and societal concerns associated with related geologic topics, such as hazards, geologic and hydrologic resources, and environmental issues.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS2023

Percent-slope map showing historical anthracite coal-mining infrastructure at the northern end of the Lackawanna syncline, Wayne, Susquehanna, and Lackawanna Counties, Pennsylvania

Introduction Abandoned railroads and infrastructure from the anthracite coal-mining industry are significant features in abandoned mine lands and are an important part of history; however, these features are often lost and masked by the passage of time and the regrowth of forests. The application of modern light detection and ranging (lidar) topographic analysis, combined with field verification, enabled the mapping of these historical features. Waste rock piles and abandoned mine lands from historical mining locally appear as distinct features on the landscape depicted on the percent-slope base map. Abandoned, and in many places demolished, infrastructure such as breakers, turntables, rail beds, water tanks, tram piers, and bridge abutments, for example, were identified in the field and located with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. This percent-slope map shows the locations of many of the abandoned features from the coal-mining industry near Forest City, Pennsylvania, and preserves a time that was an important part of the industrial revolution and a way of life that has been quiet for over half a century.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2022

Bedrock geologic map of the Crown Point quadrangle, Essex County, New York, and Addison County, Vermont

The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Crown Point quadrangle consists of deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Adirondack Highlands unconformably overlain by weakly deformed lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Champlain Valley. The Mesoproterozoic rocks occur on the eastern edge of the Adirondack Highlands and represent an extension of the Grenville Province of Laurentia. Granulite facies Mesoproterozoic paragneiss, marble, and amphibolite hosted the emplacement of granitic orthogneiss at approximately 1.18–1.15 giga-annum (Ga, billion years before present). The earliest of four phases of deformation (D1) is characterized by gneissosity, rarely preserved F1 isoclinal folds, and migmatite in the host rocks. Subsequent D2 deformation produced a composite penetrative gneissosity, migmatite, and isoclinal F2 folds. Towards the end of D2, felsic magmatism (including the regionally extensive Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, abbreviated “LMG”) spread by penetrative migration as semiconcordant alkali feldspar granite sheets subparallel to S2 into previously deformed lithologies. The LMG crystallized at approximately 1.15 Ga and displays synkinematic F2 folds thus constraining the time of D2 deformation. Exhumation during D3 produced F3 folds exhibited in regional domes and basins, such as the Keeney Mountain synform, local reactivation of the S2 foliation, partial melting, metamorphism, metasomatism, iron ore remobilization, and intrusion of magnetite-bearing pegmatite both as layer-parallel sills and crosscutting dikes. D4 created NE- and NW-trending boudinage, local high-grade ductile shear zones, and crosscutting granitic pegmatite dikes. Kilometer (km)-scale lineaments readily observed in lidar data are Ediacaran mafic dikes and Phanerozoic brittle faults. The Paleozoic rocks are part of the Early Cambrian to Late Ordovician great American carbonate bank on the ancient margin of Laurentia. Cambrian-Ordovician stratigraphy records an approximately 1-km-thick section and a transition from synrift clastics to passive margin peritidal carbonate buildups to gradually deeper water subtidal to shelf carbonates during foreland basin development associated with the Taconic orogeny. The Paleozoic rocks are weakly folded and block faulted. Large areas of the Champlain Valley are covered by undifferentiated glacial deposits, some of which contain mapped landslides. The map also shows waste rock piles and tailings from historical mining operations and large areas of artificial fill. This study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the bedrock geology in the Adirondack Highlands, establish a modern framework for 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic mapping in the Adirondacks, provide a context for historical iron mines in the eastern Adirondacks, and update the stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley in New York and Vermont. This Scientific Investigations Map of the Crown Point 7.5-minute quadrangle consists of a map sheet, an explanatory pamphlet, and a geographic information system database that includes bedrock geologic units, faults, outcrops, and structural geologic information. The map sheet includes a bedrock geologic map, a correlation of map units, a description of map units, an explanation of map symbols, three cross sections, and a simplified surficial geologic map that includes lidar percent slope. The explanatory pamphlet includes a discussion of the geology. The bedrock geologic map on the map sheet is multi-layered and has been designed to enable the user to turn off the surficial map layer to view the concealed bedrock map units.

New York, Vermont↗
USGS2022

An apparent dip calculator for spreadsheets

This report and spreadsheet calculator contain Microsoft Excel-based equations that are useful in structural geology to calculate plunge or apparent dip when measuring lineations on a plane. The spreadsheet allows users to measure the trend or the plunge of a lineation and calculate the corresponding unknown value of trend or plunge. The spreadsheet provides the user with two options: Option 1: Calculates the plunge of a lineation from the measured strike and dip of a plane and the measured trend of a lineation. Option 2: Calculates two potential trends of a lineation from the measured strike and dip of a plane and a measured plunge of a lineation. The user can decide which trend is appropriate for their data.

Techniques and Methods↗
USGS2021

Age and tectonic setting of the Quinebaug-Marlboro belt and implications for the history of Ganderian crustal fragments in southeastern New England, USA

Crustal fragments underlain by high-grade rocks represent a challenge to plate reconstructions, and integrated mapping, geochronology, and geochemistry enable the unravelling of the temporal and spatial history of exotic crustal blocks. The Quinebaug-Marlboro belt (QMB) is an enigmatic fragment on the trailing edge of the peri-Gondwanan Ganderian margin of southeastern New England. SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry indicate the presence of Ediacaran to Cambrian metamorphosed volcanic and intrusive rocks dated for the first time between ca. 540–500 Ma. The entire belt may preserve a cryptic, internal stratigraphy that is truncated by subsequent faulting. Detrital zircons from metapelite in the overlying Nashoba and Tatnic Hill Formations indicate deposition between ca. 485–435 Ma, with provenance from the underlying QMB or Ganderian crust. The Preston Gabbro (418 ± 3 Ma) provides a minimum age for the QMB. Mafic rocks are tholeiitic with trace elements that resemble arc and E-MORB sources, and samples with negative Nb-Ta anomalies are similar to arc-like rocks, but others show no negative Nb-Ta anomaly and are similar to rocks from E-MORB to OIB or backarc settings. Geochemistry points to a mixture of sources that include both mantle and continental crust. Metamorphic zircon, monazite, and titanite ages range from 400 to 305 Ma and intrusion of granitoids and migmatization occurred between 410 and 325 Ma. Age and chemistry support correlations with the Ellsworth terrane in Maine and the Penobscot arc and backarc system in Maritime Canada. The arc-rifting zone where the Mariana arc and the Mariana backarc basin converge is a possible modern analog.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island↗
USGS2021

Unmixing multiple metamorphic muscovite age populations with powder X-ray diffraction and 40Ar/39Ar analysis

A combination of modal estimates from powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments and argon isotopic data shows that muscovite 40 Ar/ 39 Ar total gas age correlates with muscovite composition near the retrograde Bald Mountain shear zone (BMSZ) in Claremont, New Hampshire, and that the shear zone was active at ∼245 Ma. Petrologic study demonstrates that chemical disequilibrium is preserved in muscovite grains in these samples. The recognition of this preservation is critical to the interpretation of the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar step-heating experiments, which never produce age plateaus and yield spectra with steps that range in age by ∼20 Ma. Petrographic, compositional, and crystallographic data all indicate that the age spectra reflect dissolution of metastable Na-rich muscovite and precipitation of stable Na-poor muscovite associated with deformation in the BMSZ.Comparison of whole rock and muscovite concentrate XRD patterns from individual samples demonstrates that the mineral separation process can fractionate these muscovite populations. Therefore, four muscovite concentrates of varying magnetic susceptibility were prepared from a single hand sample, analyzed by XRD, and dated. These four splits define a mixing line that resolves end-member ages of 244.5 ± 4.2 Ma and 302.5 ± 12.5 Ma (1σ). Although the ages are imprecise, the petrologically supported conclusion that these schists preserve two discrete ages is distinct from an interpretation that the spectra reflect cooling through closure at ∼270 Ma, as might be concluded in the absence of petrologic characterization. The XRD results also demonstrate that, even well above anchizone conditions, petrologic information relevant to 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating is observable in subtle variations in the crystallography of muscovite grains.

New Hampshire↗
USGS2021

Renewing the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program as the Nation’s authoritative source for modern geologic knowledge

This document presents the renewed vision, mission, and goals for the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP). The NCGMP, as authorized by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-285, 106 Stat. 166 and its reauthorizations), is tasked with expediting the production of a geologic database for the Nation based on modern geologic maps and their supporting data. In addition to highlighting the benefits of geologic maps for economic prosperity, national security, and environmental quality, the report describes the NCGMP structure and components. A renewed vision and mission for the NCGMP are stated, and three goals for guiding the program toward that vision for the next ten years are established. The vision of creating an integrated, three-dimensional, digital geologic map of the United States and its territories to address the changing needs of the Nation by 2030 is thereby defined to drive the activities of all NCGMP components for the next ten years. The strategic actions required to realize the NCGMP vision are identified for each of its components.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

New interpretations of the ages and origins of the Hawkeye Granite Gneiss and Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss, Adirondack Mountains, NY: Implications for the nature and timing of Mesoproterozoic plutonism, metamorphism, and deformation

The Hawkeye Granite Gneiss and Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss are widespread Mesoproterozoic plutonic rocks that occur in the amphibolite- to granulite-facies Adirondack Highlands of northern New York, USA. The strongly deformed Hawkeye Granite Gneiss, previously dated by zircon multi-grain thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) U-Pb analyses at about 1100 Ma, was intruded by the weakly deformed Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss. Previous sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) analyses of Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss zircon rims were considered to record the time of igneous emplacement at about 1.05 Ga, whereas the ages of zircon cores (~1.15 Ga) were interpreted as being inherited from nearby metaigneous country rocks. This interpretation has formed the basis of numerous models for the Mesoproterozoic structural and tectonic evolution of the Adirondacks Highlands. New U-Pb spot analyses (~15-20 µm diameter) by SHRIMP from four samples of Hawkeye Granite Gneiss and eight samples of Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss challenge the historically accepted ages of the rocks. Using a combination of high-resolution CL imagery of oscillatory zoned cores and weakly zoned to unzoned rims, SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology, SHRIMP trace element geochemistry, and SEM petrography, we conclude that: (1) the Hawkeye Granite Gneiss was emplaced at about 1160 to 1155 Ma; (2) the vast majority of Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss zircon cores yield ages of 1150 to 1145 Ma and are mainly primary, not inherited; and (3) the Hawkeye Granite Gneiss and Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss zircon rims (~1080 to 1000 Ma) are metamorphic in origin, not igneous. Thus, both the Hawkeye Granite Gneiss and Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss are considered herein to be late members of the mangerite-charnockite-granite (MCG) plutonic suite, emplaced during the waning stages of the Shawinigan orogeny. Zircon cores from two small plutons of largely undeformed fayalite granite of the Lyon Mountain Granite Gneiss are about 1142 Ma, providing a minimum age constraint for the termination of the Shawinigan. Zircon rim ages can be deconvoluted into multiple metamorphic events of the Ottawan and Rigolet tectonothermal events. These new interpretations have profound implications for structural, tectonic, and ore deposit models of the Adirondacks Highlands.

New York↗